Spitz to Phelps: "The Best Olympian of All Time"

Oh my God!

It couldn't have been any closer than it was.

I thought Phelps' golden streak at Beijing had ended.

I'm so glad I was wrong. Phelps won gold by less than a heartbeat.

BEIJING -- Move over Mark Spitz.

Michael Phelps won his seventh gold medal of the Beijing Olympics on Saturday, edging Milorad Cavic by a fingernail, .01 of second in the 100m butterfly on Saturday at the Water Cube.

Phelps, who was seventh out of eight swimmers at the first wall but made up ground with his turn, still looked to be behind Cavic in the final meters but got to the wall first in 50.58 to Cavic's 50.59.

Spitz won his seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Games. Phelps will try to beat the record in the 4x100m medley relay Sunday in the final day of swimming in Beijing.

...Phelps said tying Spitz has been a longtime goal.

"In my dreams I always wanted it," he said. "I thought in the perfect circumstances I could do it."

Spitz marveled at the way Phelps has dealt with all the media attention and pre-Beijing hype since Phelps won six golds in Athens.

"I've always marveled at the fact that in the last four years, he has had to live with a lot more expectations and anxiety that I had to deal with," Spitz said.

It was closer than a photo finish.

History by a hundredth of a second.

After the race, Bob Costas interviewed Michael Phelps and the Munich Games' 7-time gold medalist Mark Spitz. With Costas in the NBC Beijing studio, Michael Phelps was at the Water Cube, and Mark Spitz was speaking via satellite from Detroit.

It was quite a moment to witness Spitz in the U.S. talking to Phelps in China shortly after he tied Spitz's record for gold medals won at a single Olympics.

After Costas asked Phelps a few questions, he turned to Spitz for his comments.

Spitz was more than gracious to Phelps. He drenched him with praise.

SPITZ: You know, Bob and Michael, I wondered what I was going to say at this monumental time, when it would happen and who I would say it to. And of course, I thought I was going to say it to you for some time now; but the word comes to mind: Epic.

What you did tonight was epic and it was epic for the whole world to see how great you really are.

I never thought for one moment that you were out of that race and contention because I've watched you in Athens win the race by similar margins, and 18 months ago at the Worlds by similar margins, and, you know, that is a tribute to your greatness.

Now the whole world knows. We're so proud of you here, Michael, in America. And we're so proud of you and the way you've handled yourself. And you represent such an inspiration to all the youngsters around the world.

You know, you weren't born when I did what I did. And I'm sure that I was a part of your inspiration, and I take that as a full compliment.

They say that you judge one's character by the company you keep and I'm happy to keep company with you.

You have a tremendous responsibility for all those people that you're going to inspire over the next number of years. And I know that you'll wear the crown well. Congratulations, Michael.

PHELPS: Thank you, Mark.

COSTAS: What do those words mean to you, Michael? Heartfelt words from Mark Spitz.

PHELPS: You know, for so many years, you know, everyone dreams about becoming an Olympian. And, you know, from the past, people who competed in the Olympic Games and, you know, you're an Olympian for life just like they are.
There have been so many greats that have come before me. And what Mark did is still amazing. You know, it's incredible. It's a very, very hard thing to accomplish. You know, I think it shows, you know, whatever you put your mind to you really can accomplish.

When Mark won seven, he put his mind to something and he did everything he could to get there and it's the same thing with me. I've tried to stay as positive as I could, and stay rested and recover. There's so much that goes into it. But I've tried to stay positive and dream big. You know, it's gotten me here, so I'm very, very thankful.

Costas asked Spitz two questions:

A. Is Michael the greatest swimmer of all time?

B. Can he be called the greatest Olympian of all time?

SPITZ: I would say that it's hard to compare somebody from one era to the next and one sport to the next. But one thing that we definitely all have is this common thread of knowing how to win against our competitors and always maintain ourself in top form. And Michael has been very successful at doing that. I mean, in one way I think that what Michael did was more difficult than what I had done because the swim teams now are a lot more diversified and it's harder for the Americans to win the relays...

I think that he can be called, Michael, the best Olympian of all time, more so, not because of the fact he's got more gold medals than anybody, but in the way he's handled himself and in the way he's actually won under tremendous amount of pressure...

Phelps still seemed to be in a daze. He didn't seem to grasp the weight of Spitz's words. Maybe Phelps was still in shock about the margin of his victory.

In any event, Spitz showed a lot of class.

If Phelps can win his 8th gold medal of the Beijing Olympics in the 4x100m medley relay, Spitz seems prepared to give up his 36-year-old record.